Chapter 915 (2/2)

Randidly tapped a finger against his jaw, considering. There was a low line of stubble there, reminding Randidly that he likely needed to shave. But he ignored that for now and focused upon the Engraving.

It was doubly important to determine this now because he was finishing up the Advanced Mana Engraving Path. Although Randidly couldn’t be sure that it would matter, having the image present before he finished the Path would likely affect the reward.

And of the choices…

Making the Mana Engravings on the World Tree the source of its power would likely make the Skill the most powerful, but it was also dangerous. Randidly was worried that it would weaken his World Tree Skills in the long run.

Meanwhile, making the Engravings constitute just a history was a bit… bland. And with his most recent experience with a strange continent appearing in his Soulskill, Randidly was a little leery about allowing another obvious path for similar shenanigans

Which just left the Mana Engravings as a natural expression of the laws and powers held within the World Tree. Also a bit worrying, because it meant that the Mana Engravings themselves weren’t necessarily powerful. But it did mean they were intimately connected to the powers held within the World Tree.

It would just be a matter of figuring those out.

After quieting his mind, Randidly focused his efforts toward imagining the concrete image of what this was.

Infinite strength, a powerful and boundless lifeforce, communicating with the world with these ancient symbols. That was what Mana Engraving was. It was a language of energy, speaking of things beyond the understanding of most mortals.

It was the oldest language in existence. So old that no one even remembers who first spoke it.

To seek to understand the symbols was to approach godhood. Because those symbols had the ability to channel the natural forces of the world.

Randidly felt the vast tree, its golden roots spread through the world. He felt the beat heart of the planet aligned with this towering tree. The bark was deep and rutted, having endured the weather for millennia. But when one looked closely at the deep brown bark, they would see glimmers of gold.

These glimmers could be seen when looking up toward the vast canopy of the world tree when sunlight filtered down through the verdant leaves. Tiny motes of gold seemed to dance on the undersides of the leaves’ veins.

These motes then were infinitely small engravings, made by the natural laws on this tree.

Although Randidly’s eyes remained closed, his vision in the dream world expanded. The whole of the world seemed to be before his vision, the spinning air currents and ocean currents and geothermal energy and solar waves and drifting tectonic plates…

Everything was slowly moving. There was no true stillness in the world. All things were in a state of change. Such was existence.

Yet when Randidly looked at the tiny lines along which these powerful forces move…

He saw small glimmers of gold. The writing of the future, the channeling of the great forces, directing everything like an unseen conductor.

But to call the Mana Engravings a conductor was wrong. It was more akin to the force of destiny upon the world. It was the karma of each bit of energy. A promise that it would not betray its nature and act outside of its purview.

Something shifted in Randidly’s chest as the image slowly coalesced. For almost an hour he sat, simply savoring the sensation of his image of Mana Engraving shifting and settling into what it would now be. There were rumbling changes from his Yggdrasil Skillset, but these were much less comprehensive.

Finally, Randidly opened his eyes and stretched. He had another headache, but he was very pleased with himself.

It was a small thing, this shift in image. But Randidly believed it would guide him in a new direction somehow.

Coughing lightly, Randidly stood. He must have been shifting his image for longer than he had thought because the sun was sinking behind the horizon. Deep maroons and mauves crisscrossed the sky, seeping slowly into royal blue.

“I guess all that’s left,” Randidly said lightly. “Is to create my Ashen Phantom.”